


Panthera leo atrox, the feline of death vs Scully (and Mulder)

by Redshifted



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Anthropology, Copious Amounts of Sass, Gen, Mulder being Mulder, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 22:45:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9208304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redshifted/pseuds/Redshifted
Summary: Mulder rolled over in time to see a goddess with fiery hair step into view. She was holding a gun and wearing an expression that was reserved for facing supernatural monsters, aliens, and particularly infuriating men who got in her way during an investigation.Oh, hey there Scully.Several loud bangs rang through the forest. The thing that was probably a lion made a noise that sounded like the yowl of a housecat put through an easy to use, free audio editing software and then both deepened in pitch and slowed in speed.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a quick piece I wrote for my writer's craft class, I have no idea if I'm going to finish it but it's technically complete as it is.

Mulder sprinted through the forest, pursued by what he was _pretty_ sure was a lion. Just a lot bigger and on the wrong continent. _We are in New England, and there haven’t been any zoo escapes, there is_ no way _a lion can be here._

 

He glanced back quickly at the lion that was most definitely there. He was still sprinting at full speed and trying jump dramatically over tree trunks while not falling on his face. Potentially becoming lion chow was not on his to-do list. The probably-lion was about 150 feet back, and gaining slightly. Mulder cursed himself again for forgetting to bring his gun.  _Just a walk in the woods to check out a “mysterious cave where people disappear.” What about that would require a gun? Probably most of it really. What was I thinking?_

 

Mulder had to halt his internal self flagellation in favour of focusing on not running into a tree and getting eaten by something that was _probably_ a kind of lion. Dodging around a large white pine and stumbling down a hill, he could hear the lion wannabe crashing through the trees and brush behind him. It seemed to be having trouble running through the forest. Right now that was the only thing keeping him alive and he was very aware of the fact that he was _literally_ running on borrowed time. 

 

He lost his footing and slipped down the slope onto his back; landing heavily. He rolled over in time to see a goddess with fiery hair step into view. She was holding a gun and wearing an expression that was reserved for facing supernatural monsters, aliens, and particularly infuriating men who got in her way during an investigation. _Oh, hey there Scully._ Several loud bangs rang through the forest. The thing that was probably a lion made a noise that sounded like the yowl of a housecat put through an easy to use, free audio editing software and then both deepened in pitch and slowed in speed. It staggered and skidded back before turning around and fleeing. 

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Mulder blinked a few times before realizing he should probably respond. He opened his mouth and made a noise that might have been an attempt at words, or just a vocalization of his discomfort.

 

Scully rolled her eyes and reached down to give him a hand. He stared at her hand. She stared at him. Mulder finally snapped into motion and scrambled to his feet; as he did he grabbed Scully’s hand for support.

 

“What the hell was that? A lion?” Scully looked back in the direction that the kitty from hell that looked very much like a lion had disappeared.  

 

“Oh my lord, _Panthera leo atrox!_ This is official, I’ve found paradise.” A voice from behind caused them to both spin around. Mulder noticed that they were still holding hands (for support, he had been chased by a murder furball and fallen down a hill, he was still a bit unsteady on his feet and that was all). He dropped his hand and stared at the person who seemed way too interested in faux lions. 

 

She was standing about 10 feet away and wearing hiking clothes and a safari style hat. Her extremely curly black hair was poofing out of the edges of her hat. Her bright eyes and excited expression coupled with the outfit and hat gave her the look of a frazzled tourist who had fallen off a safari tour while trying to convince the cute, vicious predators to come closer for a picture.

 

Mulder had no idea what _Panthera leo atrox_ , but he had a sinking feeling that it was the feline of death. 

 

“I just saw a herd of Mastodons back over at the edge of the forest. I never could have imagined how they looked! And now _an American lion_! This day just keeps getting better!” 

 

A realization swept through Mulder, “You’re Dr. Tremonti!”

 

The woman smiled another bright smile and walked towards them, holding out her hand while pulling her ID out of her pocket. “Dr. Trina Tremonti, head Paleontologist at Yale.”

 

Scully stepped forward to shake Dr. Tremonti’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you. FBI Special Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. Doctor, are you aware that you’ve been reported missing?”

 

“Or,” Mulder interjected, “What that thing was doing here.”

 

“Well,” Dr. Tremonti paused, gathering her thoughts. “So you both came through the cave to get here right?”

 

Mulder and Scully nodded. They’d originally been in the area to investigate rumours of a cave where people would disappear and never be found again. Their investigation had gained a sense of urgency when Dr. Tremonti had gone missing. After journeying into the cave, they had gotten hopelessly lost and had decided to wait for help. Walking around for a bit near the back had revealed another exit that was not on the map. When they emerged, the forest had changed from where they had entered. They had agreed to go a few hundred meters in opposite directions to see if they could find the other cave entrance before regrouping. It was only several minutes until Mulder had spotted the lionlike thing. Now they were here.

 

“So I did the same, and got lost and found the other exit and when I went through the very first thing I saw was a Ground sloth! Those are extinct, so I knew something weird was going on. Then as I explored further, I realized that the flora and fauna match the environment we believe existed here during the later Pleistocene about 11,000 years ago.” She looked at them with the expression of any scientist who had found a holy grail of information about their field of study.

 

“Time travel is impossible, there’s probably another explanation.” Scully was already finding ways to explain the unexplainable. “We rediscover previously extinct species every year, there’s no reason it couldn’t just be that.”

 

Dr. Tremonti was already shaking her head. “Ground sloths are over three meters tall, and we are less than 50 kilometers from civilization, we would have found them sooner. Regardless, this is priceless to science! I can study these animals while they are alive! The possibilities are endless. I know you’ll want me to go back but I can’t leave now. Just go and tell them I’m okay.”

 

Mulder understood the want to study what you were passionate about but...If anything he knew about past extinct animals was right, then quite a few of them were way bigger than anything that existed now. He had to convince her to change her mind; before they had to drag her back the present kicking and screaming.

 

“Dr. Tremonti, what about sharing your work? If you stay here, you won’t be able to share your research with them. Also, you have no equipment, or camping gear.”

 

Dr. Tremonti looked like she was about to argue, but was stopped by Scully holding up her hand and looking back in the direction where the _Panthera leo atrox_ (beast of death and running for way too long) had disappeared. “Did you hear that?”

 

Mulder and Dr. Tremonti shook their heads.

 

Suddenly Scully’s eyes widened and she pulled out her gun. “Leave the argument for now; we have bigger problems.”

 

Mulder spotted what had Scully so worried. He and Dr. Tremonti moved closer to Scully. Dr. Tremonti swallowed audibly, “Maybe I’ll just stick to fossils.”

  
The lion on steroids had returned. This time it had brought friends. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
